Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr. blamed an "extremely muddy" infield for an injury to his left hip he sustained Wednesday while sliding, the Tampa Bay Times reported, noting that there hasn't been significant rain in weeks in Northern California.

"I don't know how it got real muddy out there, but it was not OK," he said. "I've never actually slid into a major-league base like that and stuck and felt like I was going deeper in the ground."

Souza is among Rays leaders at .271/.369/.514 with 20 homers and 60 RBIs, so an extended absence would be costly as Tampa Bay is three games back of first-place Boston and leading the AL wild-card race.

Plus, the Times noted, the Rays don't have an obvious in-house replacement as a right-handed hitting outfielder.